1,000 to 1

These are not odds for lasting peace to be achieved in the Middle East. It is the ratio of the number of prisoners being released by Israel to get one off their back from Hamas. 1 : 1,027 to be exact. At first look it seems naive that a government would enter into a deal with known enemies, releasing people who have been involved in many cases of killings and bombings. Even if a small percentage of the 1,000 go back to their struggle (and they will) there would be a price to pay in the not so distant future. Yet the Israelis chose to get the one man that got left behind, while he is still alive rather than get bogged down by what might happen in the future.

But concepts like these are difficult to grapple if you live in a country like ours. Where individual lives do not mean as much, where we respect people according to  lineage, profession, economic class and every other conceivable point of differentiation. No matter how much one may disagree with the policies adopted by the Israeli government, their steadfast, unwavering support of every single citizen is commendable. What the Israelis understand is that each person in their country matters. No matter what their contribution to the greater good is.

A nation is built collectively by the people, by a people respected individually. It is this idea that we need to appreciate in this country. We however, function under the pressures of different regional or religious interests. It is the sheer absence of respect for the individual that we need to address. In our country, if a person is not aligned with a political party or even smaller powerful sub-groups like civil servants, judiciary, police, local corporators, doctors or whatever classification strong enough to have influence, things can get very difficult. It is not only corruption that is rotting our core, we as a country have no patience for individuals.

It is time we place the Indian Citizen ahead of every other classification, and god knows we have enough of those! Our much touted diversity makes it all the more important that we dont give in to appeasing any one class. If each person could feel important, could feel that they can contribute; things will be much different. It is time we ‘ask what our country can do for me’ instead of the other way around.

Of Chest Pains and Uneasiness

The provident coincidence with which our politicians suffer from chest pains is legendary. Almost always immediately after a politician is arrested s/he is taken to a hospital post complaints of chest pain and uneasiness. I too would be uneasy if I were facing possible jail time, even if it was for a day. It is the ‘chest pains’ which gets my goat.

We really need a deeper look into this. Is it something all politicians eat, is it the ultra-white clothing, are the ambassadors they ride in ejecting fumes inducing chest pains or maybe it is that a politician’s body reacts to being out of work by an unbearable pain in the upper body area. Whatever it is we need to arrest this problem immediately. Not arrest maybe, just diagnose it. In a government hospital with friendly doctors.

People should not be surprised that our politicians suffer from endemic chest problems. In some cases a few politicians are handicapped by their lineage. Most politicians are either sons/daughters or in-laws of existing politicians. It is hard to escape the chest pain disease for these poor souls. Predisposed to similar working environs and moral fibre there is a very low statistical chance of escaping the common path a politician’s predecessors have been on. A few smart ones though, have found ways around the chest pain disease. They have managed to rise to positions where arrests and court cases mean nothing. Indeed, a select few do not even have to face such trivial procedures a democracy so uselessly subjects normal folk to.

A solution has to be found nonetheless. Politicians claiming to be suffering at the time of arrests should be made to undergo emergency medical procedures, like an open heart surgery or a brain transplant or something. The results will be fantastic! Not only would we have cured the illness that affects the existing lot vegetating in hospitals, the outcome of such procedures would deter others from feigning illness.  After all it is the duty of the nation to take care of the truly sick (minded).

Come to think of it, the earnestness with which we take care of our sick politicians might provide an answer to our health care problems. People who do not enjoy access to medical facilities should take to petty crime. All they have to do is wait to get arrested and then complain of chest pains. Voila! And they will be admitted to a hospital right away! I kid of course; but it is time we got serious about delivering justice and not looking like fools when it comes to investigating and prosecuting the high and mighty.

Losing the Plot

The recent decisions taken by the opposition and the civil society to undertake a yatra and to oppose the Congress in the Hisar by-elections are evidence of the fact that the concerned parties have lost the plot. It does not take much to see through the BJP and Advani’s real intentions behind undertaking the so called journey against corruption; they should have started the journey from Bellary if they were really sincere!

However, India Against Corruption’s (IAC) decision to oppose the Congress in a by-election is baffling to say the least. Even if one does not doubt their intentions. I believe that Kejriwal and Co. have got it wrong this time with their ill-advised move to affect political change. Their ignorance of how electoral politics works and the isolation of a political party from the larger system is going back on the principal understanding of why corruption thrives in this country. By asking people to vote against a particular party is to mistakenly believe that they (the congress) are different from the others. A look at the opposition candidates in this by-election easily reinforces their inherent similarities. The main opposition candidates are sons of earlier chief ministers, neither of whom have a clean track record. So what is it the IAC is trying to achieve here? By aligning itself against the Congress the movement is ignoring the very things that are wrong with the system that they claim to be fighting.

There is so much that is wrong with the stand taken by the IAC movement that one cannot help but wonder what the hell were they thinking? Firstly, to assume that the congress alone is responsible for bringing the bill to the parliament is as stupid as saying that politicians alone can change the way we function as a country. Though the congress is the ruling party of the day, the IAC also needs to understand the essential similarities of how the government works, irrespective of which party (ies) occupies the ruling benches. It has to be an inclusive process, with all the opposition parties working with the government towards a serious well-meaning bill. To forcibly put the onus on the ruling party is to absolve everyone else off their duties.

Secondly, what does a by-election in Hisar have to do with the Jan Lokpal Bill? Some might argue that it has a lot to do with everyone in this country. But what about the local issues that the electorate might want to address? Does the Lokpal Bill take precedence over those; are local issues not important anymore? Why does Hisar get to bear the burden of an issue which is of national importance, is it only because Mr. Kejriwal hails from the city? Don’t the people of Hisar deserve a fair chance to discuss and decide on issues that affect them and them alone; without an ex-inhabitant hijacking their right to decide for their own good?

Thirdly, the PM, uncharacteristically may I add, has been in regular touch with Anna Hazare over the Lokpal issue. Why is there a sudden panicked rush to deliver ultimatums and threats to the ruling party? Why can’t they just wait till the damn winter session? I share their cynicism about how things get caught up in our legendary bureaucratic processes but there are other ways to keep the pressure up than resorting to such childish immature ploys.

Lastly, the almost militant manner in which the IAC is behaving is bound to make people think twice about their intentions and the means adopted. To achieve what they have set out to do, they will need constant public support. Shenanigans like these will alienate people, for most people politics is a disease you keep away from. With the IAC taking an open stand against one particular party, they are eroding their own support base. People who came together for a common cause, against the political system; not the congress or Kapil Sibal or Khurshid, will feel confused about the new strategies being adopted. This latest ploy will only serve as a distraction and the goodwill and momentum that the IAC had managed to gain will be dented.

When this election is over, no matter what the result is; everybody except the politicians would have lost something. The people of Hisar - a fair chance to affect change on their own will, the IAC - a lot of goodwill, the Jan Lokpal Movement – time.